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In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
Today In The News
Oklahoma’s No Child Left Behind waiver extended for another year: State K-12 schools have been guaranteed another year of flexibility from mandates imposed by No Child Left Behind. The waiver may be extended for another two years if they are able to demonstrate “continued and significant progress” in improving college- and career readiness. State Superintendent of Schools Joy Hofmeister welcomed the news but emphasized that it illustrates the importance of ending No Child Left Behind altogether [Tulsa World].
Cherokee election results stand: The Cherokee Nation Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that a results of the election for Cherokee Nation principal chief, which were certified June 29, will stand. The Court unanimously found that former chief Chad Smith, who had appealed for the results to be thrown out and a new race, had insufficiently demonstrated that the Cherokee Nation’s election code was violated during the June election. Incumbent Principal Chief Bill John Baker won the four-way race with 53 percent of the vote [Tulsa World].
Oklahoma City’s homeless population declines: A new report finds that Oklahoma City’s homeless population decreased by about 12 percent over the last year. Veteran homelessness dropped by nearly one-third over the same period, and the number of chronically homeless people declined for the second consecutive year. Although advocates are committed to locating stable housing for those in need of shelter, they warn that underlying issues causing homelessness need to be addressed [NewsOK].
Prisons board delays vote on Gov. Fallin’s early release proposal: The Oklahoma Board of Corrections took no action on Gov. Fallin’s proposal to amend its earned credit policy requiring inmates to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence. Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton said that the board needed more time to study what changes would need to be made to his department’s policies and procedures [Beaumont Enterprise].
Rules violations docket will save money: A new Tulsa County docket will deal exclusively with nonviolent offenders, diverting ex-offenders who have violated the terms of their parole to further supervision and treatment. The program is designed to prevent ex-offenders who don’t pose a public safety risk from being re-incarcerated, thus saving the state money [Tulsa World].
New overtimes rules will strengthen the middle class: Today, a worker earning below the poverty level for a family of our, can be exempted from overtime pay if the employee is classified as a manager. A new proposed rule extending the threshold under which employees qualify for overtime pay to more than $50,000 per year will likely go into effect in 2016. The rule will protect employees by providing time for leisure, civic engagement, and family activities [Journal Record].
Piece missing in state’s plan to create accountability for tax breaks: New reforms require newly-created tax incentives to be evaluated every four years and to work towards a measurable goal. However, these reforms will be meaningless without a sunset provision for all tax incentives, which would require legislators to act on information from the Incentive Evaluation Commission [OK Policy].
Fort Sill gains job amid Army personnel cuts: At the same time that the Army is instituting cuts of 57,000 personnel – resulting in significant downsizing at bases in Texas, Georgia, Hawaii, and elsewhere – Fort Sill is scheduled to gain an additional 200 active duty slots [NewsOK].
Tulsa County commissioners revisit Glanz legal contract: Following substantial outcry, the Tulsa County Commissioners have decided to reconsider their decision to allow embattled Sheriff Stanley Glanz pay for outside legal representation with public funds [Tulsa Frontier].
Quote of the Day
“I think it would be crazy to think that (the initiative) did not have something to do with that.”
– Jerod Shadid, an associate planner with the Oklahoma City Planning Department, on a new report that shows veteran homelessness declined by nearly 30 percent over the last year. Oklahoma City and several advocacy groups are in the midst of a push to end veteran homelessness (Source)
Number of the Day
10,200
Number of discouraged workers in Oklahoma in Q1 2015, defined as working age individuals who have given up looking or had no success in finding a job before running out of unemployment benefits. The number of discouraged workers is up 50 percent from 6,800 in Q1 2014.
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
The Causes, Costs and Consequences of Bad Government Data
Data is the lifeblood of state government. It’s the crucial commodity that’s necessary to manage projects, avoid fraud, assess program performance, keep the books in balance and deliver services efficiently. But even as the trend toward greater reliance on data has accelerated over the past decades, the information itself has fallen dangerously short of the mark. Sometimes it doesn’t exist at all. But worse than that, all too often it’s just wrong.
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